From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
I observed right after the student's lunch period was ending at Middletown high school. I arrived at Mrs. Christman's classroom a few minutes before the bell rang. She explained to me what she had planed for the day, the class were to continue taking notes and learning about the cell and it's organelles. The students came into the room chatting and appearing more energized than they had been in previous mornings. Mrs. Christman greeted them and asked them to prepare their notes from last class. Mrs. Christman stands at the front of the room, taking a few seconds to turn the screen on. While students are taking out their previous notes, I notice one student check their cell phone. I later noticed that this student had their cell phone on their desk. Students also make casual conversation while preparing for class. Mrs. Christman then jumps right into her lesson by walking toward the front of the room and begins to ask students to reflect on what they learned yesterday. As she moves into newer topics, Mrs. Christman is constantly walking around the room. Her desks are in aisles and she follows a pattern of walking in a rectangular shape through them. This pattern allows her to be close to most students at all times. Mrs. Christman was also able to silently let the student who had their phone on the desk that that was not appropriate, by placing her arm on his shoulder and shaking her head. This was beneficial because she was able to spot the student distracted on their phone while keeping the rest of the student's on task. Throughout her lesson, Mrs. Christman is always questioning about previous information that students have already learned. When she asks a question based on something the students have learned, many hands go up. When she asks a higher level question about connecting it to the new information, less hands if any raise. Mrs. Christman involves her class in a whole class discussion to see if they can come up with a solution together. She has students take five minutes to write ideas down and then pulls out four popsicle sticks with random student's names on them. She gives markers to each of these students and they write their ideas on the board. She continues the discussion and asks other students if they would like to share. She calls attention back to her presentation and she continues to walk around the room. She does not address many behavior problems, most students are paying attention and participating aside from occasional casual whispering which does not last more than a couple of seconds.
Student engagement is an important view of my teaching pedagogy. Student engagement is an important part of a students ability to understanding content at a higher thinking level. Before taking proximity into consideration, I did not think it had much to do with student involvement. The closer I am to students, the less they are to act out or veer off task. I will definitely follow Mrs. Christmans variation throughout the room to be close to students most of the time. This proximity and moving around also benefited students while learning. Students seemed more concentrated when Mrs. Christman walked near them and she was able to check for understanding by making eye contact with students. Mrs. Christman is a veteran teacher and has very good classroom management skills. Her students stay on task and respect her, but they are teenagers and will get distracted, whether they are on a cell phone or looking out the window. Student engagement is often lower in students who are not at the top of the class. To encourage student engagement for these students, I will provide opportunities for my students to take a couple of minutes to gather their thoughts or questions, similar to what Mrs. Christman did. I will also always be walking around my classroom so that students know that I am alert and aware of what is going on at all times. I will also include a variety of questions and activities to keep students active and engaged in the lesson.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
I observed right after the student's lunch period was ending at Middletown high school. I arrived at Mrs. Christman's classroom a few minutes before the bell rang. She explained to me what she had planed for the day, the class were to continue taking notes and learning about the cell and it's organelles. The students came into the room chatting and appearing more energized than they had been in previous mornings. Mrs. Christman greeted them and asked them to prepare their notes from last class. Mrs. Christman stands at the front of the room, taking a few seconds to turn the screen on. While students are taking out their previous notes, I notice one student check their cell phone. I later noticed that this student had their cell phone on their desk. Students also make casual conversation while preparing for class. Mrs. Christman then jumps right into her lesson by walking toward the front of the room and begins to ask students to reflect on what they learned yesterday. As she moves into newer topics, Mrs. Christman is constantly walking around the room. Her desks are in aisles and she follows a pattern of walking in a rectangular shape through them. This pattern allows her to be close to most students at all times. Mrs. Christman was also able to silently let the student who had their phone on the desk that that was not appropriate, by placing her arm on his shoulder and shaking her head. This was beneficial because she was able to spot the student distracted on their phone while keeping the rest of the student's on task. Throughout her lesson, Mrs. Christman is always questioning about previous information that students have already learned. When she asks a question based on something the students have learned, many hands go up. When she asks a higher level question about connecting it to the new information, less hands if any raise. Mrs. Christman involves her class in a whole class discussion to see if they can come up with a solution together. She has students take five minutes to write ideas down and then pulls out four popsicle sticks with random student's names on them. She gives markers to each of these students and they write their ideas on the board. She continues the discussion and asks other students if they would like to share. She calls attention back to her presentation and she continues to walk around the room. She does not address many behavior problems, most students are paying attention and participating aside from occasional casual whispering which does not last more than a couple of seconds.
Student engagement is an important view of my teaching pedagogy. Student engagement is an important part of a students ability to understanding content at a higher thinking level. Before taking proximity into consideration, I did not think it had much to do with student involvement. The closer I am to students, the less they are to act out or veer off task. I will definitely follow Mrs. Christmans variation throughout the room to be close to students most of the time. This proximity and moving around also benefited students while learning. Students seemed more concentrated when Mrs. Christman walked near them and she was able to check for understanding by making eye contact with students. Mrs. Christman is a veteran teacher and has very good classroom management skills. Her students stay on task and respect her, but they are teenagers and will get distracted, whether they are on a cell phone or looking out the window. Student engagement is often lower in students who are not at the top of the class. To encourage student engagement for these students, I will provide opportunities for my students to take a couple of minutes to gather their thoughts or questions, similar to what Mrs. Christman did. I will also always be walking around my classroom so that students know that I am alert and aware of what is going on at all times. I will also include a variety of questions and activities to keep students active and engaged in the lesson.